Kseniya Green

A very unpopular opinion, but:

For me, the perfect example of this trope "from hatred to love" done right is the drama Beyond Evil. It also features a hero frozen by abuse. But there's a very powerful, heart-wrenching scene where he expresses empathy for the man whose life was ruined by his father. And this moment truly feels cathartic, for both of them.
But here, Jeongyo's love offers him no catharsis—only more pain.

In my opinion, Pio loves Jeongyo, as much as Pio is capable of love - in his egocentric way. But he never put Jeongyo's feelings first.
For example, even after surrendering to the police, he continued to protect his mother. Did it ever occur to him that his mother, now free, might decide to take revenge on Jeongyo?
He insisted on performing Jeongyo's piece because he was confident he could perform it better than anyone else - but did he consider that it might hurt Jeongyo to see him? That Jeongyo might need time? And so on.
There's not a single scene in the drama that suggests to me that Pio is even capable of putting aside his own feelings and thinking about Jeongyo's.

Moreover, I never got the feeling that Pio had overcome his self-centeredness. Throughout the last two episodes, we see Jeongyo coddling Pio and his feelings. The fact that Pio finally embarks on a search for the one person who gave him unconditional love doesn't feel like an illustration of a rejection of self-centeredness.
All these scenes are about how Pio is loved.
Jeongyo never received that catharsis of having someone truly empathize with him. No one questioned him: How did you survive all this time? What did you have to go through?
The drama didn't give Pio the chance to embrace the role of living in Jeongyo's shadow. To find the strength to love Jeongyo more than his codependent relationship with his mother. To love music more than his own wounded ego. The drama simply conveniently removed all the obstacles in Pio's path, including Jeongyo, and called it a happy ending.

Yes. And besides being homophobic, in this story it feels particularly mocking towards Jeongyo. He's a bright, vibrant, free-spirited, passionate person. But the drama seems to force him to abandon everything he is in order to stroke the ego of an immature, insecure young man.
It's as if the drama itself, its creators, are joining Jeongyo's tormentors and saying, "You're too much for this world, you need to shrink into our confines and know your place."

One day, writers will stop using the most queer character in story as a sacrificial victim for the greater good and peace of mind of all sorts of immature, insecure individuals, and nature will be purified.
Until then, I swear off watching any queercoded drama as ongoing . Only after the finale airs and I'm convinced it doesn't treat the characters horribly, polishing it all off with christian imagery of "pure, heavenly love", beautiful lightning and some nice smiles.
Yes, I am very angry.

Yes. And honestly, that's what makes me really angry for Jeongyo . He's the main victim in this story, but every choice is taken away from him, and he always ends up in the position of having to give in and surrender for the sake of someone else.

On a more positive note, I want to thank actor Lee Jun Young. Whether Jeongyo is allowed to be heard in the drama itself or not, we, the audience, hear him. And this is primarily due to the actor's emotional, subtle, and poignant performance.

I can understand Pio's psychology, but what I dislike most is how the drama itself twists the narrative to make Pio the main victim of the whole story. Yes, Pio suffered greatly, but ultimately, he was heard by many. Jeongyo is unheard by anyone. It's as if, behind the radiance of his talent, he's even much more invisible than Pio. And even his attempt to express his experience through the music he wrote turns into a scene of admiration for Pio's mastery.

I'm afraid of this too. And I'm afraid that even a good ending won't be able to mend the narrative's distortions for me.
Jeongyo received neither compassion nor the opportunity to vent his anger.
But Pio's mother received something like a redemption arc.
And Jeongyo was left to pray, apparently for the sin of daring to think about himself once in his life.
Pio caused him even more pain than in all the previous episodes, yet he portrays as a martyr.

The concert scene turned out to be entirely devoted to Pio - his feelings, his inferiority complex, his sacrifice. I understand that Pio is the central character of this drama and the focus is naturally on him, but in this scene, it felt tone-deaf to me toward Jeongyo.
And things got even worse from there.

Unfortunately, no amount of chemistry between the characters can make me overlook the fact that the drama seems to make Jeongyo feel miserable because of Pio. And even the scenes where Jeongyo found the truth don't feel cathartic - they feel humiliating.

And when a story places a victim in a position of humiliation, that's completely wrong for me.
What I particularly don't understand is that everyone is acting as if Jeongyo has already driven several people to suicide and should "let go of the grudge," when in fact he simply uttered a few harsh remarks to the person he believed was responsible for the attempted murder.
So yes, I'm very disappointed.

So, I watched episode 11 in its entirety, not in chunks, and I'm afraid that, unfortunately, my hopes for this episode weren't met, and my fears were justified by the extended program. Honestly, I didn't expect it to be so bad.

I also don't think Jeongyo had any cunning, devious plan. He simply clung to the only connection that gave him meaning, and he came up with excuses for why he had to see Pio every day, even though he thought he was guilty. At first, he justified this by thinking he had to torment him. But ultimately, he was ready to forgive Pio all his sins and simply continue making music together.

A big problem for many people with narcissistic trauma is that they crave unconditional love, but at the same time, they have a very difficult time accepting that unconditional love when they receive it. Because it's like admitting, "This person loves me not because I'm so good, but because they're capable of loving me." At some level, recognizing this requires the ability to let go of their wounded ego.

I really want to see Pio become less self-centered for the sake of his loved one's happiness. Because, in my opinion, he's self-centered even in his own guilt, and I see this in, say, this act of publicly admitting guilt at Jeongyo's concert, dedicated to a piece written by Jeongyo, in a way taking away that The Moment from him.
Egocentrism isn't the same as selfishness, but it can also be very painful for those who love you.
I want Pio to understand that sometimes it's not so important whether you're "good" or "bad" in this story, but that someone needs you just the way you are.

I think a meaningful ending would be for Pio to find him again. Because Pio was always the one who brought Jeongyo back, even though part of Pio felt like he wished Jeongyo had never existed. But his actions actually prove otherwise.
The only happy ending I see for them is for Pio to realize that Jeongyo is more important to him than his wounded pride and bring Jeongyo back himself.

Pio just voiced what I wrote earlier. That part of him wishes Jeongyo didn't exist. Because Pio sometimes feels unbearably small next to Jeongyo. Therefore, he feels as if he, too, is to blame for everything that happened to Jeongyo.
But in my opinion, admitting this out loud was very selfish of him.

But the point is, if we look at specific events and actions, Pio has always been the one who found and brought Jeongyo back, starting with that situation with the risk of expulsion from school. So Pio needs to somehow figure out his feelings and desires, and I hope he can do this before it's too late.

Yes. And I think this is also part of why, after the shock, Jeongyo became so deeply convinced of Pio's guilt. Although there are logical contradictions, even despite Pio's confession.
But the main problem is that, on some level, Jeongyo always sensed this - that a part of Pio would have preferred him not to exist. So, after the near-death experience, this gnawing feeling surfaced and grew. And Pio's interview certainly didn't help.
In principle, Jeongyo could easily have fallen into the same state even without the kidnappers' testimony. Simply from emotional shock.

Yes, I think you're right.
Part of Pio can't bear life without Jeongyo, but part of Pio wishes Jeongyo had never existed, and that's why he feels guilty deep down.
And it's actually deeper than just competition. For someone with such trauma, caring for someone, feeling like their life depends on another person, makes them feel small, sometimes unbearably small.

Yes. And it doesn't make life easier either. Sometimes a deep connection makes life more difficult, but a person still wouldn't choose otherwise.